March 29, 2015

Winning and Losing

Brian's been back on the home front and he's saved me from my endless binge watching of TED Talks and failure at launching a new batch of succulents. Thankfully I snapped a picture when I first started with the succulents. The tray is now a sorry mess of shriveled brown things. I'm still holding out hope for three of the little leaves. But not too much...

Now that he's home I've reduced myself to shameless selfie taking. I've been appalled at how few family pictures we have and how fewer pictures there are of Brian and I. So I'm determined to change the status quo this year even if it means snapping a few phone pics on a Sunday night.

Since Brian had been out of town for a spell, he kindly included me in his new Friday night hobby which I think might just turn into a Friday night "us" hobby. And we need one!

A few weeks back Brian went to an auction house and came back stoked about a few treasures he picked up (and was soon a little pissed when I explained what a Japanese buoy was - he had passed on that bid). Buying and selling via Ebay and Craigslist has been a hobby of Brian's for a while, and he's fallen a little hard for the thrill of the auction house.

We initially invited friends to come with us on Friday, but they ended up already having plans. I was half glad once I arrived because a warehouse full of what appeared to be piles of junk wasn't exactly what I had had in mind for a fun night with friends. Use your best imagination at what a flea market in Arkansas might look and feel like and you'll be dead on as to the first impression of this place.

As we watched a few bids go by, Brian explained more of how things worked, what his strategies were, and how he profiles people based on what they bid on. I realized soon how easy it was to get into this. Brian got almost all the items he had come for right away, and we were debating leaving when a dining room table caught my eye. They had pulled it to the front, so I knew they'd be putting it up for bid soon. The whole thing about an auction is that you're biding on stuff you never really intended to buy (unless your Brian and had scouted it out before hand). So unlike walking into a furniture store because you want to buy a table, suddenly a table pops up and you have to decide if you want to buy it. And while you're debating whether you'll regret buying this unplanned purchase more than you'll regret not buying it, you're bidding against other people and you almost just don't want them to win. The mind games that go into this are insane, and on top of it you probably have less than 2 minutes before the entire bid is over. Done with. Fate sealed.

So this was the beauty that had caught my eye.

Despite looking small in the picture, it's actually a full sized dining room table - and we actually could use a bigger table. Annnnd.... I let the bid go on five bucks. FIVE BUCKS. And then I did myself the disservice of looking it up online (go ahead - it's on Wayfair), and I'm kicking myself that we didn't take it. I totally over thought it. In the end I was worried it was a bit too on the trendy side, and in three years I would be wanting something different. And that's the game you play at auctions - no real time to think things through, and totally unaware of if you're getting swept up in winning the bidding war. Without a doubt I'll be going back desperately hoping this table pops up again. I'm not really sure you can count it as a date, but Brian and I had enough fun with it that I don't even care.

Oh my - that is gorgeous. I'm glad you are getting some good hubby time - we also don't have many pictures of me and Zac because even our oldest kid can only snap pics at a pretty horrendous angle. Zac sells stuff on ebay and craigslist probably weekly - he's makes a tidy little sum haha. Also...wanna send me your mailing address? You can just write in on my blog and I won't publish....

Oh my - that is gorgeous. I'm glad you are getting some good hubby time - we also don't have many pictures of me and Zac because even our oldest kid can only snap pics at a pretty horrendous angle. Zac sells stuff on ebay and craigslist probably weekly - he's makes a tidy little sum haha. Also...wanna send me your mailing address? You can just write in on my blog and I won't publish....